Gradual growth is guarantee for Gray
The 25-year-old has been forced to adapt to different levels of the pyramid at an accelerated rate, climbing up from the top tier in non-league to the top flight of the English game in three seasons.
The striker marked his first season in the Championship with 17 goals for Brentford and then followed that term up with 25 goals for the Clarets, finishing at the top of the division’s scoring charts.
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Hide AdNow the former Luton Town forward, voted player of the year at the Football League Awards at the end of the last campaign, is confident of developing once again having just missed out on double figures at the highest level.
“It’s been good for me,” he said. “With the ban, I think I missed six games all together, so it was important to learn from it and try and get back on the pitch and scoring.
“It was always going to be difficult, I’ve jumped up four of five leagues in three years so it was always going to be hard.
“I was never going to come into the PL and win the Golden Boot. It’s about learning and I think I’ve learnt a lot. A lot of it is mentality and hunger to get better.”
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Hide AdGray added: “I’ve got a lot to work on. I’ve got a good base, it’s just tuning things up and hopefully I can step on and do a lot better next season as I did when I was in the Championship.
“I’ve scored quite a few goals considering it’s my first season, so hopefully I can do what Jamie Vardy did and score 25 next year.
“There’s more to come. I’ve got to come back fit and ready again and learn from my mistakes this year and work on what I can do better.”